| Daily News - 12 November 2003 |
The national protest called by the Coordinator of Popular Organizations ended at 6am this morning, after a 24-hour period in which the entire country had been shut down. Banks and public offices were empty and the streets, for the most part, deserted. In the more populous neighborhoods, considered "hot" by the police, there were street demonstrations, which, at times, became violent. A total of seven deaths, six civilians and one policeman, are attributed to the disturbances, while two other policemen remain hospitalized in serious condition. The deaths occurred in Santo Domingo, Bonao, Higuey and La Vega. Statements issued by representatives for the Coordinator said that the economic policies of the government and the energy situation were the motives for the national strike. According to Hoy newspaper, the Coordinator's office told reporters that even though the strike has been lifted, the government now has 30 days to answer the demands of the protestors. The Coordinator for the National Strike Committee called the demonstrations "successful" and reaffirmed that the government has to reduce the price of the basic necessities, solve the blackout problem, raise salaries for the military and all public and private employees, reduce the price of gasoline and other fuels, assign 5% of the budget to the UASD university, finish the buildings already begun on that campus and guarantee that Father Rogelio Cruz not be transferred.
Both Hoy and the Listin Diario report extensive blackouts throughout the country. Power outages lasting up to 24 hours were reported in Villa Consuelo, Villa Juana and Ensanche La Fe, as well as most other neighborhoods of Santo Domingo. The Cibao was especially hard hit, and in Santiago over half of the city was left in the dark for over 36 hours, according to Hoy. Lack of fuel was the main reason cited for the poor service and the generation deficit was estimated to be slightly over 700 megawatts. A slight improvement is expected today, when two smaller generators enter into service.
In connection with the issue of blackouts, the Diario Libre is reporting there is a severe shortage of fuel for the generating facilities to produce electricity, and the paper offers the perspective of a possible nationwide blackout by this coming Friday. Sources close to the Haina plant confided to reporters from the DL that they only have fuel to last until Friday and that it will take at least 15 days for a ship to arrive to re-fuel the facility. In the middle of the fuel shortage, the generators have still not received official word that pending debts have been cancelled. EdeNorte, EdeSur and EdeEste have a combined debt of US$375 million. Meanwhile, facilities such as Smith Enron, CEPP-I, Los Mina V and VI and AES-Andres are out of fuel and offline. The plants represent over 550 megawatts of generation. While the plants Los Mina V and VI and AES-Andres operate with natural gas, they do not have the money to purchase this cheapest of fuels.
The Federation of Industrial Associations of the Dominican Republic (FAI) will oppose the proposed increase of the 1.5% tax on anticipated earnings and the 30% tax on incomes. Ignacio Mendez, president of the FAI, told Listin Diario reporter Candida Acosta that the proposals are irrational in a country where substantial parts of the industry and commerce sector is informal. Mendez suggested a plan whereby the Internal Revenue Department would become more technologically sound and thereby more efficient and affirmed that the renewed IMF talks were the best news in recent weeks. The proposal to raise the tax on businesses from 25% to 30% was introduced by Hato Mayor's Senator Juan Morales Vilorio, who also proposed that the tax on lottery prizes be upped from 10% to 30%. The senator also wants to raise taxes on automobiles to 90%, in certain cases.
The District Attorney for Santo Domingo, Maximo Aristy Caraballo, announced yesterday that he has suspended the arrest warrants for two former bankers indicted in a RD$20-billion fraud within Bancredito. Aristy Caraballo said that he was following a Presidential request to review the indictment before jailing the accused. The complaints against Manuel Arturo Pellerano Pena and Juan Felipe Mendoza were read by Jose Lois Malkum and Julio Cross before Aristy Caraballo, charging the bankers with falsification of documents, abuse of trust and violating the Monetary and Finance Law 183-02. Aristy Caraballo said that the arrest warrants were put on hold by order of the Attorney General and the President. The District Attorney told reporters from the Listin Diario that he did not feel that the President's interest in the case represented a conflict of the different state entities.
This week's editorial by leading economist Pedro Silverio touches on the proposed legislation that will support the IMF agreements. Upon reading the legislation, Silverio discovered some surprising information. While the law insists upon the autonomy that must surround the actions taken by the monetary authorities, Article 2 of the proposed law says that an intervention by the monetary authorities can only occur after the President emits a resolution to authorize the intervention. Thus, says the economist, the President - not the monetary authorities - has the last word. Silverio points out the case before the public today, in which the top executives of Bancredito had the warrants for their arrest suspended by the District Attorney at the behest of the President. Silverio says, very cautiously, that a conflict between the President and the authorities pursuing the case is evident. He questions whether the President was even aware of the decision to issue the warrants, concluding that the decision of whether to intervene or not in a banking or financial institution's operations should not be within the President's power. That same Article 2 also says that the Finance Minister has the authority to veto any decision to intervene taken by the Monetary Board. Since the in the new Monetary Board, the Minister of Finance will be representing the President, the end result is that in no way will there be any independence of the authorities. Finally, Silverio points out that in Article 17 of the proposal, the officials of the various units of the monetary and financial administration are not personally responsible for any damages they cause when working in good faith. The lead economist at Cenantillas ends by saying that this article seems unnecessary, as good faith is presumed to exist in all public offices and bad faith must be proven. The proposed law, however, also makes officials personally responsible for breaking the law, and this article appears to be putting the cart before the horse, or as said in Spanish, "una cura en salud."
The economic section of the El Caribe reports that hotel occupation has averaged 72.8% through October, in spite of a slight decrease from the figures for September (61.5% against 63.4%). Occupancy is up 12.3% over the 2002 figures, and, according to the Hotel and Restaurant Association (ASONAHORES), only the area of Santo Domingo showed a decrease in hotel use. The Bavaro-Punta Cana area continues to lead in occupancy growth, coming in at 47.1% over last year. During October, the Bavaro-Punta Cana figures were equaled by the Samana area. Other areas with notable growth were Sosua-Cabarete and La Romana-Bayahibe. The Central Bank is projecting total tourist arrivals of over 3 million for 2003. The income generated by the tourists is expected to reach over US$3 billion. The Dominican Republic continues to head the "favorite destination list" in the Caribbean.
In what El Caribe feels is either a case of negligence or a careless mistake, an eight-month-old baby went to the San Lorenzo de Los Mina Maternity Hospital to be treated for a staphylococcal infection and ended up at the Dario Contreras, where his arm was amputated. The question being raised is whether the antibiotic injection he received caused gangrene in the lower arm, thus necessitating the amputation, or not. According to El Caribe's report, a few minutes after receiving the antibiotics, an "abnormal situation" produced itself, which resulted in the amputation of the infant's left arm.
According to reports, Vladimir Guerrero is being pursued by the Baltimore Orioles and any contract offered will certainly be something to envy. The Montreal Expos slugger is one of the leading free agents in the Major League Baseball marketplace. Young shortstop Angel Berroa of the Kansas City Royals won the Rookie of the Year award for the American League. His manager, Tony Pena, is a practical shoo-in for the Manager of the Year in the American League and Felipe Alou is in the running for an award in the National League, although pundits predict it will go to Jack McKeon of the Florida Marlins. Figures like Alex Rodriguez (Arod) and outfielder Manny Ramirez are among the stars being offered for trade or on waivers. Any team in baseball would want Arod, except the Yankees and Boston. Ramirez might have a bit more trouble finding a home, given his penchant for mouthing off. As reported in Hoy newspaper today, Dominican ballplayers are among the most sought after in the sport. The Top 50 Free Agents include Bartolo Colon, the great Chicago White Sox pitcher, Miguel Tejada, the American League MVP in 2002, Jose Cruz, the Cubs pitcher, Raul Mondesi and Jose Mesa, the big reliever. Also on the list is shortstop Luis Castillo of the World Champion Florida Marlins. Castillo was a .314 hitter in 2003 and won a Gold Glove for his fielding. Number 26 on the list is Miguel Batista from the Arizona Diamond Backs, who, in addition to being a 10-game winner, had an ERA of less than 4.00. Jose Guillen of the Oakland As had the best year of his career, but finished the season with injuries that affected his performance.
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